Sony has announced the Xperia M2 Aqua, a variant of the M2 that it's marketing as "the waterproof smartphone for everyone." It's Sony's first water-resistant phone with mid-range specs, and it's apparently ready to swim with the best of them.

In the small print, we see that the Xperia M2 Aqua is IP65 and IP68 compliant, meaning that it can withstand dust and survive being kept under 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes. These recommendations don't quite match up to how Sony is marketing the phone in its videos, where it shows the phone floating rather safely to the bottom of a pool. But that's not to say that the company is being disingenuous, as we've seen various accounts of Xperia phones surviving much worse, and this is supposed to be just as rugged. Take this phone wherever you're willing to drag along a Z2.

The Xperia M2 Aqua rocks a 1.2 Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, an Adreno 305 GPU, 1GB of RAM, and up to 8GB of internal memory that's expandable thanks to a microSD card slot. On the front, there's a 4.8-inch 540 by 960 display and a 1.1MP camera. On the backside, there's an 8MP shooter. All of this is powered by a 2300mAh battery. It may not be the most powerful phone out there, but at least it can handle a little water.

Born and raised in the rural South, Bertel knows what it's like to live without 4G LTE - or 3G, for that matter. The only things he likes sweeter than his tea are his gadgets, and while few objects burn more than a metal phone on a summer day, he prefers them that way anyway.

I know it's Sony saying in their own PR that this is their first waterproof mid-range...But what about the Xperia Go and Xperia Advance? Weren't those pretty much mid-range?

Ibrahim Yusuf

Xperia Active not Advance :)

Alex Frías

Yeah, that one! :P

vinícius

Both were from the Sony Ericsson's Era, I think. So technically, it's the first mid-range waterproof from Sony by itself.

Alex Frías

Yeah, the Active was Sony Ericsson indeed, the Go was Sony though!

Ambroos

The Active was a really nice phone, but the Go and the whole family of Xperia's with NovaThor SoCs had a few software issues. It's not unlikely they simply want to forget they ever existed.

And they were both classed as entry level, so it makes sense. The M2 is a pretty decent phone for the price and a good competitor for the Moto G if you prefer less spartan yet slightly older software. Sony has very nice media apps and the camera UI is fantastic.

Alex Frías

Haha, totally, they did have issues with those NovaThor chipsets indeed.

But yeah, this is a really good alternative to the Moto G.

Now they just have to release the Z3 Compact and change the icons of their skin, they're getting old (I love the rest of the interface)

I was just gonna say "ooh this looks nice as an upgrade, maybe I will get a phone this year after all," but I saw the screen resolution and fuck you, Sony. ;-;

Justin W

I love my Z2, minus the power button. It feels out of place to have a round button on the side of a phone. If they put it on the back, I don't think I'd have an issue with it (bigger, of course), but on the side it's not as easy to hit as, say the camera or volume buttons.